News Story

CATT Researcher Leads New Transportation Study

COLLEGE PARK, Md. –Engineers are investigating the potential use of an Automated Small Vehicle Transport (ASVT) system in Wyandotte County, Kan. The system comprises a fleet of fully automated vehicles – each with a capacity to transport between two and 12 people. Unlike conventional transit that runs on a schedule, stops every mile or so and groups people together in masses, the proposed system operates more like automobiles. These vehicles are available on demand and transport people directly to their destination without stopping for additional riders. Such a system is scheduled to open at England’s Heathrow International Airport in 2009.

The team of researchers will consider how an ASVT system could enhance mobility and relieve parking and vehicle congestion in the commercial development area near the Kansas Speedway, the Legends at Village West, the Woodlands Race Track and the Providence Medical Center.

“Despite the number of attractions, the dominant use of developed land is parking lots and roads to serve these attractions,” said Stanley Young, a researcher with the Center for Advanced Transportation Technology at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md., and the lead researcher in the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) and Kansas University study. “The principal complaint of patrons is movement in and about the attractions in the area.”

The research project will focus on accessibility improvements to the existing and planned facilities, possible links to any existing and planned transit systems and reduction in land area dedicated to parking.

The estimated $115,000 cost of the study will be paid for by KDOT and Kansas University Transportation Research Institute. Also participating in the project are Unified Government of Wyandotte County, Kansas State University’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Maryland’s Center for Advanced Transportation Technology, Federal Transit Administration, Mid-America Regional Council and Advanced Transit Association.

About CATT

The Center for Advanced Transportation Technology (CATT) in the A. James Clark School of Engineering Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Maryland, College Park, was created in order to respond to the significant changes brought about by increasing use of advanced technologies in the transportation field. A permanent staff of ITS professionals and affiliated faculty of the Department of Civil Engineering supports CATT. All offer extensive knowledge and experience in the areas of ITS technology, traffic engineering and control, systems analysis, and operations research. Visit CATT on the web at www.catt.umd.edu.